Opus 2021-122: New Terms: Proregressive*

I have been using the term Progressive* for a time to refer to a group of people that are out to destroy the American Republic.  As a way of identifying who is included I have the asterisk and have a footnote at the bottom:

*(Liberals, educators, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, MSM, Deep State, etc.  Another word for swamp dwellers)

I add to the definition from time to time as new synonyms become clear.  I envision the definition becoming a good sized paragraph by the time I stop the reference.

I have a few friends and acquaintances who don’t like to refer to these people as Progressive in spite of the historical accuracy of it as the name of a certain political philosophy.  They feel that progress is positive and we don’t want to give them the benefit of the doubt.  So I am going to start using a new word,

Proregressives*

The definition will be the same but the word more accurate.  Two letters make the term much more precise.  These are people whose idea of progress is to regress to the elation of the October Revolution or the diplomacy of the Mongol hoards.  They are the enemy of civilized society.  And they are everywhere.

Onward to real progress.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-121: They’re Back

The grandkids are back.  They are older so I am getting to know them again.  That is always a pleasure since they are such superior examples of grandchildren.  When they arrived the first thing the three year old did was pick up a child-sized rocker chair that had been hers and start out of the garage.  When I asked her where she was going she said, “Outside.”  I followed her around the garage and across the front of the house she started toward the front porch.  I asked her again where she was going and she told me “Up high.”  She then proceeded to carry it up the stairs and place it where she left it.

I could bore you with even more stories but I am still collecting them and I know you have a life.  

Add the downstairs maid services I am offering my wife who had hip surgery and it makes for a busy day.  It also reminds me to be grateful for my mobility.

Enjoy the parts of life that still offer a reason for living.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-120: One in a Million

It has finally happened.  I heard something that the Biden administration might be getting right.  I found it in the March 10-16, 2021 edition of the Epoch Times.  It has to do with the way in which China is trying to use something called “rare earths” to bring American industry to heal.  It seems that China produces 80% of these metals that are necessary for much of the high tech products that are made here.  They cut them off from Japan in 2010 and are now threatening us.

Evidently the “rare earths” are not rare.  They are plentiful.  The only specific element I found mentioned was tungsten.  It used to be part of every light bulb in the world, so it is not actually rare.  The issue is in separating and refining them.  Like so many manufacturing and production industries, this has been driven out of the United States because of EPA regulations.  The jobs don’t go to China just because they work for less.  They go to China because China has no OSHA or EPA regulations making it either prohibitively expensive or impossible to comply.

Which brings us to the “might be getting right” part of my opening statement.  Biden’s handlers see the problem.  They are aware of it and have acknowledged it.  The problem is the same problem we have in so many areas of our economy:  The tail that wags the dog.

“While rare earths are critical to the economic and national security of the United States, it’s unclear whether the Biden administration may promote ramping up domestic production and processing due to environmental challenges.”

Rare earths are a part of our life.  They are used in rechargable batteries, the ubiquitous electronic gadgets that run our lives, ceramics and jet engines to name just a few things.  Our modern way of life depends on them.  The question is can we depend on China to supply them?  

It seems the decision is up to the current administration.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-119: Wildflower Watch: Spring

I pretty much ignored the beginnings of little yellow flowers.  They are so common and diverse that they cause no enthusiasm.  I would venture to guess that you could find a little yellow flower somewhere in Texas in the middle of winter.

But the blue bonnets are starting to speak up.  They are not carpeting the roadsides yet but in my back yard they are testing the waters.

Life is coming back to the countryside.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-118: Election 2024: Time to Start Campaigning

Meghan for president?

You can imagine me falling out of my seat laughing at this one.  That was my first response.  As I heard the idea expressed again today I have second thoughts.  Why not?  Look at the last two Democrat presidents.  What qualified them to be president?  One was black.  Check.  The other was useless.  Check.

Maybe she is the prefect candidate for the modern Democrat party.

Meghan for president!

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-117: Either Way

How much does God manage the small details of our lives?  I am thinking in terms of the China virus panic and guardian angels.  There are two extremes, tiny and God appointed.  Many times they may be the same.

For the big things we have guardian angels.  There are several places you can find this in the Bible but it is clearly stated in Psalms,

(Psa 91:11 NAS77) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.

I use the NASB here because it actually uses the word “guard”.  Usually when I think of a guardian angel I imagine an awesome warrior with unimaginable powers.  He can do all the things that Superman was described as doing and then some.  He is the one who slows my car down just enough to be late to the guy running the red light.  He is the one in war who erases my name from all the bullets.  

But what about the other end?  Does the guardian angel intercept all the little critters that are trying to invade our bodies and wreak havoc?  Imagine how boring that would be.  Or did God simply put an immune system in our bodies and let the macrophages feast?  Did He make it so that if we live righteous lives our natural defenses are more than adequate to protect us from things like the China Virus and the common cold?  Does He guide the path of every virus and bacterium or does He have some kind of heavenly probability chart?  Is our health the result of our life style or simply Providence?

Either way I hope I get a chance to thank my guardian angel(s) in eternity.  Did they laugh at my jokes?  What were some of the one liners they wished they could have shared with me when I was being really stupid?  It will be good times.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-116: Grasping at Straws

Be thankful for the small blessings.  I was thinking of one of the benefits of the lock down over the China Virus:  I have learned how to spell vaccine.  Or at least I can spell it correctly part of the time.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-115: Give the Devil His Due

Does Governor Cuomo deserve due process?  I know it has been denied to anyone to comes on the radar of our Progressive* overlords, but we still have a Constitution and believe in the rule of law, right?  The left has ignored the restraints of law in their crusade to destroy America.  Should we join in?

Maybe he doesn’t.  The State Senate and Assembly leadership, Democrats no less, have called on the Governor to step down based on the reports we are getting about his alleged sexual harassment of female employees.  That is the Democrat way:  Listen to the rumors, stick your wet finger in the air, and demand that someone act like they are guilty.

Maybe he does.  It seems the Republicans in New York have found a spine and started impeachment proceedings.  The key here is that impeachment is supposed to be for legal violations and is calling for the due process involved in the allegations.  What is really encouraging is that the Republicans in New York seem to have found a spine.  Maybe they have been hanging around with Trump.  Or maybe they just listened to the rumors, stuck their wet finger in the air and decided they could come out and play.

Personally I would like the Democrats to set the example.  File charges.  Take testimony.  Have a trial.  Grant the protections of the Constitution.  Give Cuomo due process.  Let it be a trial by jury instead of a trial by accusation.  Then let the chips fall where they may.  

Maybe the Republican leadership will see it and realize that they can do more than whisper in corners.

Maybe not.

*(Liberals, educators, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, MSM, etc.  Another word for swamp dwellers)

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-114: Childish Brainwashing

With all the talk about how nasty, racist and arrogant white people are I offer an example of the white racism I was raised on.  This is a song we were taught as children.

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

When the gurus of modern culture came out with the idea of “multiracial whiteness” it became clear.

Of course you also have verses we heard preach on from the Bible.

(Col 3:11 KJV) Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

(Gal 3:28 KJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

That sounds pretty inclusive to me but I was raised before the philosophy of deconstructionalism took over education.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-113: Non-Partial Justice

In reading through Exodus I came across an important reminder of the difference between God’s idea of justice and the Progressives* of today,

(Exo 23:2-3 NAS77) "You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

Christians are to be different in many ways and we need to remember that it also means in how we deal with the poor around us.  While the Bible is full of condemnation of the oppression of the poor it also talks about the poor oppressing other poor and over all is a demand for a justice that is not based on your victim quotient.  

Biblical justice is not based on the qualities of the individual.  Those are always variables.  Variables need to be considered but the justice of God is based on the character of God, which never changes.  Justice is rooted in objective truth not subjective conditions.  Thus, Biblical justice is not based on social justice.  That is a term created by the Progressives* to make it possible to tweak any situation to provide the outcome they want.  It is the difference between equal opportunity and equal outcome.  

Our Progressive* overlords are trying to divide us based on class, race, religion, gender and brand of perversion.  If you listen to them and then make your decisions you will be the manipulated fool.  You will be the person described in the first part of the verse.

There is a reason that the statue of justice is wearing a blindfold.

*(Liberals, educators, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, MSM, etc.  Another word for swamp dwellers)

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-112: On the Street: Masks and Modification

Wednesday, March 10, 2021, was the day that the government overreach on masks was to be ended in Texas.  My wife, who had hip surgery a week ago, was going well enough for me to go out and run a few errands.  One of the things I wanted to check out was the mask mandate and how people were responding.

The short answer was, they aren’t.

It was kind of depressing.  I went to the public library and the grocery store.  In both places the signs mandating masks had been removed.  In both places I was the only person I could see that did not have a mask on.  No one made an issue of my bare face but they continued to walk around with the shroud of fear in their posture.  

It would seem that the conditioning has been successful.  The masses are not rebelling.  They are complying.  Even when they don’t have to.

Sad.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-111: Headlines: Another New Math

By now you have heard of the attempts to remove the white from mathwhitematics.  I believe one of the titles is Equitable Math.  In a post on Free North Carolina I read the following statement,

“Students subjected to Equitable Math probably will not learn much mathematics, but they will surely learn to be good little social justice warriors.”

What all you people who are screaming to reopen the schools don’t understand is that the math teachers in public schools often don’t know enough math to teach it.  Thus, it is a natural to deal with something that they do know:  Victimhood and Social Justice.

Understand that this is the result of the ways in which the Progressives* have infiltrated the education system.  Infiltrate?  No, they have taken it over, saturated it.  My daughter was a math major.  She took the old fashioned, un-watered down, hard math classes that allowed her to move out into the corporate world and start at a salary higher than mine after 30 years of teaching.  She is evidence that the next generation does not have to have lower potential than their parents.  They just have to be willing to work for it.

Where was I going with this?  Oh, right.  When she was taking her real math classes the snowflakes destined to teach elementary school were taking something with a title like “Math for Educators”.  It wasn’t just watered down or simplified.  It was bleached of any toxic content that might have lead to white privilege.  That was ten years ago.  Thus they learned to sing cute little songs to teach instead of learning the math behind the songs.  I saw the results of this when kids would come into my class singing a song about the Pythagorean Theory.  I knew what it was because I also took hard math.  I asked them what it meant and they would invariably answer, “I don’t know.”

Modern American Education needs to be dismantled and put through a chipper, then flushed down the toilet.  One of the best things to happen to kids is being held out of school.  Maybe they will learn something.

*(Liberals, educators, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, MSM, etc.  Another word for swamp dwellers)

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-110: Headlines: Living Phonies

I have watched with amusement and anger the outrage of a group called “Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden” have expressed their shock at being betrayed by Joe Biden on abortion.  Let me give you a slice of reality:  You cannot be pro-life or evangelical if you supported Joe Biden.  It’s like a vegan wanting their steak well done.  It is an oxymoron.  

Let me explain if it isn’t obvious to you.

Evangelicals are a group of Christian believers who are not denominational but are spread across most denominations.  An evangelical believes that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was physically resurrected to show that we have eternal hope.  An evangelical believes that the Bible is the word of God and we are expected to live by its teaching.  If you take any time to consider what the Democrats campaign on you will see that their platform is incompatible with the teachings of the Bible.  Just consider that the convention repeatedly refused to acknowledge the existence of God.

It is also impossible to be in favor of abortion and be a Christian.  The Bible is clear that unborn babies are people and bear the image of God.  To kill them is anything from manslaughter, in the case of accidental causing of a miscarriage, to murder.  In the case of Joe Biden, who claims to be a Catholic, it is very clear he should be excommunicated for his support of killing the unborn.

If you call yourself a pro-life evangelical and support a man who is clearly anti-life and anti God then it means you are either stupid, ignorant or evil.  

Pro-life Evangelicals for Biden?  I bet these people don’t even know the answer to, “Is the Pope a Catholic?” or “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?”

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-109: Sleep Aids

Some people have a hard time falling asleep.  Some regularly, others have the problem on occasion.  I have heard a glass of warm milk recommended.  Some claim a glass of wine does the trick.  In extreme cases I guess there are pills you can take.

Year ago I found that one of the most effective ways to put me to sleep was for me to lean back in my recliner and put on one of the tapes of my favorite preacher.  Sermons on tape would do the job for me.  It was like magic.  I enjoyed the guys preaching.  When it was live I never remember having to fight sleep.  In my chair, on tape it is the elixir of sweet dreams.  

About a week ago my wife went through hip surgery.  It has been an adventure.  There are pills and exercises and devices to be worn.  One issue is getting to sleep.  I have noticed that one of the great aids is Hallmark movies.  They have never put me to sleep.  Instead they make me want to run out of the room screaming, but that is not the case for my wife.  Right now she is zonked out while the mix or match actors and actresses go through their formula romance.  It works like a charm.  I would suggest that they come with a warning label about not watching while operating heavy machinery.  

The big question for the tofu and bean sprout crowd is, “Are these natural?”  I think they are gluten free but I am not sure about the organic part.  

I guess we need a disclaimer:  I am not a doctor, psychiatrists, sleep therapist or salesman.  I am not offering medical advice.  Consult your doctor and remember, I don’t charge a fee.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-108: An Experiment in Printed News

I have told people that the reason print newspapers are dying is not because no one wants them but because they are all left wing rags.  I have also said that if I could find one that was reliable I would subscribe.  I am going to give the Epoch Times a shot.  I see them advertising everywhere.  I got several mail flyers and a free copy before I started to give it a try.  So far it has been in interesting experiment.  I originally signed up for three months and am going to renew for a year.  

A recent article I read was “Nigeria’s Hybrid Threat: Terrorists Allied With Bandits” in the March 3-9 weekly edition.  I went to see if I could find it on line and the original date was March 2, 2021.  One disadvantage of the print is it is slow to arrive.  However in an article like this a week does not make any difference.  One of the things I have a hard time finding is news about the world that is not US focused or the latest nonsense on the China virus.  There are many things going on that we need to read about.

The article dealt with the local issues but also reflected the kind of thinking that Americans need to be reminded of.  On page A11 I found this quote,

“Any clashes between the semi-nomadic Fulani terrorists and local farmers are entirely one-sided. Strict gun-control laws in Nigeria prevent civilians from buying firearms except on the black market. While the majority of citizens in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are unarmed, those restrictions haven’t stopped thousands of Fulani herders from carrying assault rifles.”

If that is not a reminder about the importance of our Second Amendment, I don’t know what is.  It also speaks to the recent moves by the Biden administration to take away the guns of America.  The message is, “Beware”.

You can read the article on the Epoch Times web site.  In an  ad on another podcast I was watching, they pointed out that one of the advantages of printed media is that it arrives at your door saying what it said when it was printed.  It cannot be changed without it being pretty obvious.  

Since I am a subscriber I have access to everything.  I noticed that one article I read on line about the deaths being caused by the vaccines was labeled “premium”.  It looks like you can read it for free but you need to register.  That is usually enough to stop me.  You can make your own decisions.

We will see how this goes.  At present I would recommend you subscribe and make your own experiment.  We need to support the good guys.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-107: Should-a-Beens: Zoom Classic

Maybe it is already happening and we don’t know it.  Could the next style craze walking the runway in Paris be called Zoom Classic?  Picture pajama bottoms with a coat and matching tie.  The big question for the trend setters might be, “Briefs or boxers?”  It brings new meaning to “business casual”.  

There are things that they say once you see, you cannot unsee.  This fits in that category.  I am also wondering, if you reviewed the pictures we have seen of some of the biological male models and what they wear with a straight face, I am not sure we would notice if Zoom Casual becomes a thing.  And if you look at the total chaos and lack of style that is common in our public places I am not sure it would not be an improvement.

Come on, admit it, bell bottoms weren’t that bad.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-106: Infinite Possibilities

Does infinity exist?

I concede the concept but I can’t grasp it.  Every time I think I am making progress I realize I am putting a limit on it just by thinking about it.  

Does it really exist or is it just a figment of the imagination?

It is useful in certain scientific and mathematical computations.  So is the square root of -1 and that is impossible.  In case that gets you shaking your head, think about some laws of math.  When you multiply two positive numbers the answer is always a positive number.  When you multiply a negative number and a positive number the answer is negative.  And example would be, if I am going into the hole one dollar a day then after five days I am five dollars in the hole.  When you multiply a negative times a negative the answer is positive.  I am not sure I can wrap my head around that with an example, but it is one of the rules of math.  So if you take the square root of -1 and multiply it by the square root of -1, you end up with a positive one.  

But it works in equations because you don’t need to really know what it is worth.

So, does infinity really exist?  What does that say about the concept of the God of the Bible?  If we can’t understand a concept like infinity how could be expect to understand a God Who is by definition, infinite.  If you can’t explain infinity why should it bother you that you can’t explain God?

Something to think about to pass the time.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-105: Ode to Old: Education Opportunities

Will I need to go back to school, study law and pass the bar?

I am really tired of saying, “I’m not a lawyer, but...”  It seems more and more that common sense and common decency have been purged from our culture and everything now is down to law suits and fine print.  One of the common comments I used to get from my middle school scholars was, “I’m going to sue you.”  

Of course I also think I need to go back to school and become a doctor and to trade school to be able to fix my own car.  The list goes on.  I am so glad that I will never do any of them.  The thought of sitting under the supervision of teachers fills me with horror.  

Retirement and old age have their benefits.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-104: Realize the Dream

I keep coming across phrases and comments that run in the direction of the America we knew is no more.  The inference is that we can never get it back.  It might be a good idea to take that to heart and build on it.  I don’t want to go back to America as we knew it.  I don’t want to go back to a country where the Progressives have been undermining the Constitution, infiltrating the churches, propagandizing the media and making mush out of children’s minds.  I don’t want to go back to a country where the Progressives have been cheating on elections for years.  The only difference is that this time they had to overcome Trump and so they became obvious.  

We have been living in a Fantasyland.  

I don’t want to go back.  I want to go forward.  I want to go forward by abandoning all the false trails that have been laid by the Progressives*.  The first attempts at building heavier than air machines focused on the fact that birds flapped their wings.  You have probably seen the old movies of people strapping on wings or “airplanes” that flapped.  If the inventors had not switched gears and looked at the shape of the wing we would still be stuck on the ground.  Sometimes you have to ditch the phoney science to move into the real science.  The same applies to how society works.

Socialism has been tried by many people.  It eventually becomes communism.  It was tried by the Pilgrims.  It was tried by the Jamestown Colony.  Neither one was able to feed themselves until they went back to personal property and individual responsibility.  It fails.  It destroys.  It kills, people and dreams.  There is no way it can be reformed, it must be discarded.  

I want to see the republic rebuilt as the Founders dreamed it could be.  Actually we need to go beyond their dreams because they did not dream big enough.  Don’t be afraid to change the clock.  If it is really 6:00 and your clock says 12:00 you can turn it either way on an analog but on a digital you may need to go forward to make it accurate.  I know when I set my alarm I need to be careful to check if it is AM or PM.

Maybe the goal should be America as we thought it was rather than as it was.  Dream big and move forward.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-103: Megan and Maher

I was browsing the headlines of The American Thinker and saw one that seem to reflect Bill Maher having a moment of lucid thought.  I didn’t finish the article, you can read it if you are interested.  My undisciplined mind went off on a rant.  He was interviewing Megan Kelly and she was sharing how the expensive schools she send her children to were brainwashing them with the latest transgender nonsense.  It is really disgusting the mind games they are playing.  One of her children is in kindergarten.

What really got me at first was that I was not picking up any indication that they had removed their children from those Centers for Indoctrination.  Why?  Why does a couple with more money that I will ever be able to count leave their children in a petri dish of mind warping indoctrination?  We never had much money but we managed to keep out kids away from that stuff that was in its formative days thirty years ago.  We went with home schooling.  Surely Megan and her husband could afford to hire a private tutor if nothing else worked.  When I went back and watched part of the video it became clear that they had pulled their kids.  Bravo.

As a nation we need to get proactive in rejecting the attempts to destroy us coming from the Progressives in charge of government, education and the media.  If you can’t afford to pull your kids out of public education then go to school board meetings.  Go sit in a class.  Get in their faces and let them know you are watching.  Let them know that you know some good lawyers.

If that doesn’t work you can at least stop buying Coke and Nike products.

There are a lot of steps we can take before things blow up.  Take yours.

homo unius libri